Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 3/2

Where the Wild Things Are
Spike Jonze's ambitious feature, based on the Maurice Sendak classic, led Todd Gilchrist to write: "Where the Wild Things Are is most effective because it faithfully recreates the dimensions of childhood experience, but it filters them through the realities of adulthood. As an understated work of spectacle, or maybe a spectacular work of understatement, Jonze's latest film is not only his best to date, but a monstrous achievement in its own right - with or without the big furry creatures." Buy it.

The Blu-ray disc includes a bonus film: the too-adorable and super-cute adaptation of Sendak's Higgelty Pigglety Pop! -- the latest short from Madame Tutli-Putli filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. Meryl Streep voices a dog who leaves her master to find a new life and become a star for the World Mother Goose Theater. (Spike Jonze and Forest Whitaker also lend their voices.)

2012
That old Mayan prophecy finally gets realized, at least on the big screen, with Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic thriller. In his review, Peter Hall wrote: "what some fail to understand is that even with the brain turned off, even with disbelief firmly suspended, some movies stink so ferociously that the stench wafts off of the screen, snapping even the most resistant critic to full alertness like a slap in the face by a glove spiked with smelling salts. 2012 is not immune to analysis simply because it is an openly absurd movie." Skip it.

Bitch Slap
Taking a cue from old-school exploitation flicks, Bitch Slap follows three ladies ready to steal some diamonds from a kingpin for a big payday. William Goss wrote in his review: "Having never seen so much as a Russ Meyer flick (I know), one might argue that I couldn't fully appreciate the exploitation pastiche that is Bitch Slap. I do know, however, what worth I place in the sight of busty broads brawlin', and I do know that Bitch Slap exhausts that gratuitous appeal early on in its 100 minutes." Rent it if yer itchin' for exploitation, only on DVD.

Also out: For the Love of Grace, The Wraith, Plenty, Frances, Jake's Corner, 30 Years to Life, The Penthouse, Esther and the King, This Revolution, The Life, 2 Brothers & a Bride, Under Heavy Fire, Spin

Gentlemen BroncosNapoleon Dynamite helmer Jared Hess looks into what happens when a young writer gets ripped off by a famous fantasy scribe. Peter Hall wrote that the film "barrels past being quirky into the weird-for-weird's-sake hinterland of comedy where subtlety is abolished in favor of broad, hit-and-miss gags." If you're a fan of Hess' work, Rent it.

We Live in Public
Ondi Timoner looks into the wild and once on-net life of Josh Harris -- a man who dared to live publicly on the Internet, well before the days of social networking and widespread internet usage. In his review, James Rocchi wrote: "Timoner hasn't made the definitive documentary about the internet -- who could? -- but she's crafted a incisive, exciting and thought-provoking examination of the ways our new chances to live in public both make and mar the way we now live." Buy it, only on DVD.

Cold Souls
Paul Giamatti plays himself, while David Strathairn plays a doctor who extracts souls so that people might lead less complicated lives. Move over Meet John Malkovich! "Cold Souls looks and feels like a Charlie Kaufman film, but it's somehow slipperier and yet simpler, more complex and yet more direct," James Rocchi wrote. Buy it, only on DVD.

Clash of the Titans
As the new version gets ready to slide onto screens across the country, Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion cult classic is getting the Blu-ray book treatment. But other than the pages of images to flip through, the film itself might not be the best choice for high definition. DVD Town notes: "The thing you have to remember is that 1080p high definition will emphasize any imperfections in the source material."

Also out: The Neverending Story, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Alice, The Kids are Alright

Ponyo with Plush
Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated film has finally hit the shelves, as both a regular disc or disc + plush toy. Ponyo details a little boy who befriends a goldfish princess who wants to be human. For more on Miyazaki and the feature, check out this installment of Jeffrey M. Anderson's 400 Screens, 400 Blows.

More Disney/Ghibli:My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service

As Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland heads towards the screen, watch the shelves flood with what came before: